I can't help but express my frustration and disappointment with the current state of HARO, a once-promising platform for connecting journalists with valuable sources and experts. It's turned into a barren wasteland overrun by spammers and con artists who are flooding the system with worthless and blatantly . AI-generated content Gone are the days when HARO was a reliable resource for journalists seeking genuine insights and quotes from real experts. Now, it's infested with lazy marketers who think they can fool journalists with their mindless and often irrelevant responses. Honestly, it's insulting to the intelligence of both journalists and experts who genuinely want to contribute to meaningful stories. These spammers and link beggars (mostly hailing from ) and their AI-generated nonsense have essentially turned HARO into a playground for content scammers and worthless media, and it's tarnishing the reputation of the entire platform. India or Pakistan Personally, I think HARO should just use a firewall rule and ban these two geographical locations from accessing the site altogether, as many other platforms have been forced to sadly do. It's not only a waste of time for journalists who must sift through the muck to find a diamond in the rough, but it's also an affront to the professionals who have valid expertise to offer. Journalists, who are already under immense pressure to deliver quality content and meet tight deadlines, are now faced with an onslaught of garbage responses from individuals who have never even read the original request. Instead, they're blindly copy-pasting AI-generated paragraphs that sound like a broken record, offering no real value to the journalist or the readers. HARO was intended to be a platform that promoted credible, insightful, and expert-driven content. Yet, it has been overrun by spammers who think that AI-generated gibberish is an acceptable replacement for genuine expertise. The Obsession With Backlinks The obsession with backlinks! It's utterly mind-boggling how these noted individuals go to extreme lengths to acquire these little digital endorsements, and I can't help but rant about it. In a world teeming with thousands of legitimate ways to make money online, the relentless pursuit of backlinks for cash is a bizarre fixation that's doing more harm than good. First of all, what exactly are backlinks? They're just hyperlinks from one website to another, right? That's it! While they can be valuable for SEO purposes, it's absurd how people have elevated them to an almost mythical status. Backlinks have become the be-all and end-all of online success for some, and it's puzzling. There are countless other ways to generate income online without resorting to such shenanigans. People will use any platform they can find to land backlinks, and they'll go to great lengths to get paid for these links. From to inflating the significance of their website, it's a never-ending cycle of deception and manipulation. And it's not just hurting the individuals who indulge in these practices; it's damaging platforms and services as well. guest post spam emails Take Fiverr, for instance. What was once a thriving platform for freelancers to offer their services has now been overrun by countless worthless and useless backlink-building scams. It's like a never-ending parade of snake oil salesmen promising instant SEO success, only to deliver disappointment and a dent in your wallet. The platform's reputation has taken a nosedive, and it's largely because of the backlink obsession. Then there's the Help a Reporter Out (HARO) service, a valuable resource connecting journalists with expert sources. But what are many people doing? They infiltrate HARO with their dubious link-building intentions, flooding the platform with irrelevant, self-serving pitches that clog up the system for everyone else. The backlink obsession is not only shortsighted but also detrimental to the online ecosystem. It devalues quality content, rewards manipulation over merit, and diminishes the trustworthiness of online platforms. Instead of focusing on legitimate ways to earn money online through content creation, affiliate marketing, e-commerce, and other methods, some individuals opt for the cheap, deceitful route of backlinks that are not even placed correctly in the content and include forced anchor text. The backlink obsession is a puzzling and damaging trend that needs to be reined in. It's time for individuals to shift their focus from the elusive allure of backlinks and explore the countless other legitimate opportunities to make money online. HARO’s downfall is an affront to the hard work and dedication of legitimate professionals who are willing to share their knowledge and insights with journalists and, ultimately, the public. It's time for HARO to take a stand and clean up its act. This platform should be a beacon of quality journalism and a resource for journalists to access authentic sources. The flood of spammy, AI-generated responses created for nothing more than to host a backlink needs to be curtailed, or HARO's credibility will continue to deteriorate, and it will lose its value as a trusted source for journalists alike.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

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